Yesterday was an exciting day. I arrived at the home of my friends, Ray and Elizabeth, with my bicycle, fan motor, and voltmeter in hand. The plan was to attach the fan motor to a frame in such a way that the bicycle tire would rub against the shaft of the motor and thereby generate current. As we were unloading my car, I mentioned that I had been looking at DIY plans for a treadmill generator system; however, I had not been able to obtain a treadmill motor yet. Lo and behold, Ray and Elizabeth had an unused treadmill that they were willing to sacrifice for the project!
Above you can see the pictures of how we removed the motor from the treadmill, built a frame to stabilize the bicycle, attached a belt to the bicycle tire and the generator shaft, and then pedaled! We inadvertently attached the motor so that it produced negative voltage readings on the voltmeter. Therefore, we switched the red and black wires to compensate.
Thank you to Ray and Elizabeth for spending their evening helping me and for donating wood, the motor, and other scrap parts.
My next challenge is to learn how to connect the generator to the 12-volt battery to the charger receptacle. I think I will need a regulator between the generator and the battery. Then I probably need an inverter (to convert DC to AC) between the battery and the charger receptacle.
Above you can see the pictures of how we removed the motor from the treadmill, built a frame to stabilize the bicycle, attached a belt to the bicycle tire and the generator shaft, and then pedaled! We inadvertently attached the motor so that it produced negative voltage readings on the voltmeter. Therefore, we switched the red and black wires to compensate.
Thank you to Ray and Elizabeth for spending their evening helping me and for donating wood, the motor, and other scrap parts.
My next challenge is to learn how to connect the generator to the 12-volt battery to the charger receptacle. I think I will need a regulator between the generator and the battery. Then I probably need an inverter (to convert DC to AC) between the battery and the charger receptacle.